Russian Local Government and the War Effort, Autumn 1914–Spring 1915: “A New Horizon for Russia’s Zemstva”
Russian Local Government and the War Effort, Autumn 1914–Spring 1915: “A New Horizon for Russia’s Zemstva”

Summary/Abstract: After the catastrophes of the first months of the war, Russia’s military commanders hoped that the coming of autumn in 1914 would bring a respite from intense fighting. Colder weather and short days would make military operations a more difficult prospect for both sides and for the organizations founded to care for the wounded, the war’s first winter should provide a calmer period. When Prince G. E. L’vov, the union’s chairman, spoke at a meeting of the Union of Zemstva on 15 October 1914, he believed that he had seen some signs of hope in the military situation, as he noted that “the dark clouds that had blown in from the west over the last two and a half months were now clearing and that rays of sunlight were beginning to appear.”1 The apparent easing of the severity of military operations would provide an opportunity for the unions to stabilize their work and to develop a framework for their activity without the pressure of military crisis requiring immediate responses. This article will discuss how the Union of Zemstva and the Union of Towns adapted to the military situation that developed after the defeats at Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes in August and September 1914. It will analyze how, after the initial panic and chaos of the first weeks and months of the war, these public organizations were able to extend the scope of their activities and to embed their work deeply into the fabric of Russia’s wartime society. Immediately war was declared in summer 1914, Russia’s elected local government institutions— the provincial and district zemstva and municipal councils—recognized that they could play an important part in supporting the Russian war effort.

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